Nora's Sick Day
by DJ Mcloud
Summary: A short, fluffy drabble of Ren taking care of Nora during her sick day home from school.


"Ren… I don't feel so good…" Nora stood in the doorway and sneezed, taking a tissue out of her pocket and blowing her nose. Her nose was red and puffy, her face pale and clammy and eyes watery.

Ren looked over his friend and sighed, putting a hand to her forehead, pulling it away at the feeling of substantial heat. "Looks like you've got a cold Nora. You should probably stay out of class today."

"Pyrrha and Jaune are out training." She looked up at him and pouted, her eyes wide and watery. "Take care of me."

Ren sighed, shaking his head with a small smile. "Alright, get out of your uniform and into your pajamas."

Nora's face brightened a bit at that. "Can I wear the ones with the sloths on them?"

"Yes you can wear the ones with the sloths on them."

"Yay!" Nora grinned, tossing off her clothes, grabbing her pajamas out of her dresser and heading into the bathroom to change. "Can I have ice cream?" She called back into the next room.

"No you cannot have ice cream Nora."

"Awww! But I want ice cream!"

"I will make you soup."

"Fiiiine…" Nora sighed, buttoning up her orange pjs with little cartoon sloths patterned on them and walking back in. "I had ice cream when I was in the hospital before though…"

"That was your tonsils Nora."

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure it was a cold. Why do they call it a cold if you can't have ice cream?" She plopped into bed with a huff, getting snuggled into her blankets.

"That's not why they call it a cold." Ren sighed, opening a can of chicken soup and heating it up on their room's little single burner device. The two watched the soup simmer for a moment before Nora let out a loud sigh.

"Reeeennn, I'm booorrred…" She grumbled, slouching in her bed, pulling the blankets over her head and making a little fort.

"Your soup will be ready soon." Ren smirked softly. For someone who bounced around at the speed of sound when she was at one hundred percent, it must have been difficult to sit and rest, she couldn't just plant herself like he could.

Nora popped out of her blanket, hanging off the side of her bed with a sigh. "Tell me a story!"

"What kind of story would you like to hear?" Ren asked, stirring the soup so it didn't burn.

"Oooh! Oh! Tell me a story about a kid with spiky hair that doesn't want to have any friends but then he finds some friends and then there's magic and fighting and then they kill god with the power of friendship!"

"That's not a story, that's one of your video games. Also you just told it."

"Oh yeah… video games make good bedtime stories." Nora giggled, sitting up.

Ren sighed, ladling the soup into a bowl. "Lay down, you need to be resting. " He lightly seasoned the broth and brought it over to her.

"How am I supposed to lay down and eat?" Nora grumbled as she nevertheless did as her friend said.

"Don't worry about that, I'll feed you." Ren said, holding a spoon out for her and sticking it into her mouth.

"Bleck!" Nora coughed as she swallowed the first spoonful. "I forgot I hate soup…"

"It's good for you, come on." Ren sighed, swirling the spoon around her head.

"I'm seventeen Ren, the airplane trick hasn't worked on me in two whole years." She stuck her tongue out. "There's no way I-" She was cut off as Ren shoved the spoon in her mouth as she was talking. She stuck her tongue out in disgust one more time but begrudgingly swallowed a few more spoonfuls of the soup before her face turned blue.

"Ren… I think I'm going to puke."

"Oh come on, it's not that bad…"

"No seriously I'm gonna hurl."

Ren's eyes widened and with speed that would make Ruby proud he hefted the girl over his shoulder, running her into the bathroom and pointing her in the general direction of the toilet, even holding her hair back for her before the loud retching confirmed his suspicions.

"Thank you…" Nora panted as they got her cleaned up and back into bed.

"Well so much for the soup…" Ren sighed and shook his head. "I'll make you some toast."

"With peanut butter?" Nora's eyes glistened.

"Of course." He smiled and nodded, grabbing a bottle from the medicine cabinet as he got the toast ready. "I'm going to give you some cough medicine with it too. Remember to drink the whole thing."

"Only if it's the grape flavor!" Nora called in to him with a cough.

"Don't worry." Ren nodded, bypassing Pyrrha's strawberry flavored medicine and taking up the purple bottle. After her second attempt at a meal and she downed the medicine, Ren grabbed a book and took a seat beside her. "Now the cough medicine will make you a bit drowsy, so if you feel a bit loopy that's all it is."

"Okay…" Nora yawned, already feeling the effects. She always fell asleep quickly, she ran around at hyper speed but when she stopped she stopped hard.

"Let me know if you need anything e-" The sound of Nora's loud snoring told him he didn't need to finish that sentence. He sighed softly, grabbing his book and flipping through the pages, keeping watch over her as she slept.

About two hours passed and Ren's studying went uninterrupted as Nora rested when suddenly a soft whine tore the boy from his book as Nora shifted in her sheets. The girl's eyes fluttered open and remained at half-mast, a drowsy look hanging in her half-shut lids. "Ren…" The sound of her voice told Ren that she was still quite loopy from the medicine.

"What is it Nora?" He asked quietly, brushing the orange locks out of her eyes and gently wiping her brow.

"Thank you for staying with me… I know you don't take days off from school even when you're feeling down yourself…" She croaked out through her sore throat. He'd scarcely missed a day since they'd arrived at Beacon.

"Don't worry about that Nora, you just get some rest." He sighed and patted her head gently.

"Ren…" She said tiredly, her voice dreamy and spaced-out.

"Yes Nora?"

"I love you Ren…"

A small smile crossed the boy's face as he leaned down and kissed her forehead softly. "I know Nora, I know. I love you too."

"When I grow up I'm gonna marry you, I'll be the bride and you be the groom… no wait, I'll be the groom and you be the bride." She nodded weakly.

"Whatever you say Nora."

"I'll be the broom and you be the glide…" She giggled and mumbled sleepily, her tongue getting tied from the medicine as flopped her head over to the side and closed her eyes.

Ren smiled and watched her sleep for a minute. "You look so peaceful… it's weird to see you staying still…" He chuckled lightly, dipping a towel from the bathroom in some water and placing it over her forehead to make her comfortable. He turned back to his book until his eyes started getting tired and he merely hunched over, watching Nora rest before slowly drifting off himself.

About an hour later Jaune and Pyrrha came back from training and classes, the blonde boy blinked as he watched Ren, sleeping sitting up while Nora slept with a bright smile on her face.

"Is something wrong?" Jaune asked. "Nora's… quiet. I'm not used to that."

Pyrrha smiled sweetly, draping blanket over her teammate with a soft chuckle. "Seems like those two had a busy sick day today."

"Guess so…" Jaune sighed and crossed his arms. "Should we… leave them alone for a bit?"

"I think so, I get the feeling it might be embarrassing if one of them woke up while we were here." The red-haired woman nodded.

"Alright, wanna get some dinner then?" Jaune smirked. "My treat."

Pyrrha chuckled softly at the almost-date invitation. "Sure, that sounds nice." The two walked out side by side, the door closing with a soft click.

At the sound of the click Nora's eyes fluttered open and she yawned loudly, sitting up and stretching, spotting Ren sleeping with the blanket hunched over him. "Man I feel loads better! I bent that virus over my knee and spanked it!"

Ren grumbled himself away and rubbed his eyes. "Don't go hopping around just because you're feeling better… you still need rest…"

"Yeah yeah…" Nora waved him off, a slight pink coming to her cheeks as memories slowly came flooding back to her, not sure which part was a dream and what was real. "Hey Ren… did I say anything weird while I was loopy off that stuff?" She asked.

Ren smiled softly, deciding not to force anything and shaking his head. "Nothing weirder than normal."

"Okay, must have been a dream." She breathed a sigh of relief, her cheeks remaining a bit red. "Hey Ren… does that mean the part with us riding a Goliath into battle and shooting up a bandit camp was a dream too?"

"…yes, that part was most certainly a dream."

"Awww, I kinda wanted that part to be real…" Nora pouted, hearing a soft squeak and turning her head.

"Achoo!" Ren sneezed again, covering his mouth. "Ugh…"

"Oh no! Did I get you sick!?" Nora leaned in, looking into Ren's slightly droopy eyes, he wasn't looking too good. "Don't worry, I know exactly what cures colds… PANCAKES!"

Ren sighed and leaned back in his chair. "It's going to be a long night…"


End file.
